College World Series 2024 (Photo from Google Images)
The Tennessee Volunteers are headed back to Omaha for the College World Series! This will be the Vols third trip to the mecca of college baseball in four years. (Seventh trip in program history and first time going back-to-back years.) The Vols are ranked the number one team in the country and have been ranked in the top ten the entire season. But it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish!
Omaha
The top eight teams advance to the College World Series and will play in a double elimination bracket at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. This year’s bracket is an all ACC vs. SEC matchups with four teams from each conference. The ACC: Florida State, Virginia, North Carolina, and NC State. The SEC: Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Kentucky.
ACC vs SEC
Florida State has been to the College World Series 23 times and have never won it all. This will be their 24th trip to Omaha. (Texas has the most CWS appearances with 38 followed by Miami with 25 appearances.) I was in Omaha the last time NC State made it in 2021. In one of the most questionable decisions in sports, the Wolfpack were ‘disqualified’ due to positive COVID-19 test on the team even though most of the team was vaccinated and not showing symptoms. I felt horrible for those kids and for their families. It’s one thing to lose to a good team, but to lose to the NCAA is devastating.
This will be Kentucky’s first trip to the CWS and I pray to the sports gods that they do not pull off a Coastal Carolina University (win on their first trip to the CWS)! Here’s a breakdown of the number of appearances to the CWS (including this year) and the number of National Championships.
Tennessee
Now, the team that you want to root for in the College World Series is Tennessee! The Vols have one of the most talented rosters in college baseball this season. Six of the Vols are ranked in the top-100 draft prospects for the 2024 MLB draft. These boys know how to hit the long ball. (Beka, long ball is a term for home run.) Currently, this year’s team has hit 173 dingers, the second most home runs by a single team in NCAA history. (The 1997 LSU Tigers hold the record with 188 home runs- that team also won the CWS.)
Since 1999, Miami has been the only number one overall seed to win the CWS championship. When the format moved to a best of three series in 2003, only twice has the number one overall seed made it to the championship finals (Texas in 2004 and 2009). Tennessee is 55-12 going into Omaha and Vegas has them as the favorite at +290. However, Omaha hasn’t been great for the Vols. They have only won one game in their last two trips to the CWS (2021 and 2023). Tennessee will need to win game one and start in the winner’s bracket.
Tony Vitello
Is there a better-looking man than Tennessee’s head coach, Tony Vitello? The answer is NO!
And Tony is more than just a perfect looking man. In his last four years at Tennessee he has a 203-60 record, 12-0 in Regional’s, three 50-win seasons, four straight Super Regional’s, two SEC regular season and conference championships, and now his third trip to the CWS in four years. Tony Vitello is a stud who can flat out coach! (And he’s pretty funny too.)
Kirby
If you’ve watched Tennessee in the last five years, you know the LHP with the handlebar mustache, Kirby Connell. Kirby may be one of the most beloved Vols ever to play for Tennessee. His last pitch in Lindsey Nelson Stadium was a strike three in a Super Regional game. The baseball gods love Kirby too. As a fifth-year grad student, Kirby has been a leader in the dugout. We would love to see Kirby join the coaching staff in some capacity.
The 2024 College World Series begins on Friday, June 14th with the championship series beginning on Saturday, June 22nd. Tennessee plays Florida State at 7:00 on ESPN. LET’S GO VOLS!!
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